The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 97

Author: Robson, Charles, ed
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy
Number of Pages: 770

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ARPENTER, PHILO, Pionecr Settler of Chicago, Merchant, and Real Estate Owner, was born in Savoy, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, February 27th, 1805. He is the second son of Abel and Martha (Eddy) Carpenter. The family is of English descent. In 1635 three of its members emigrated from Southampton, England, in the ship " Bevis," and settled first in Rehoboth, and afterwards in Weymouth, Massachusetts. They were father, son, and grandson, and all bore the same name-William Carpenter. Their de- scendants remained in Massachusetts, became identified with the interests of their adopted country, and ranked in various ways as prominent citizens. The grandfathers of Philo Carpenter, on both sides, served in the War of Inde- pendence. His paternal grandfather, Nathaniel Carpenter,

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held a captain's commission in the royal forces stationed | among the soldiers and the civilians, and was made the here when the Revolution broke out. He at once resigned means, under God, of saving many lives. The settlement was as deficient in religious matters as in temporal concerns. He was impressed with this want, and on speaking of it to a gentleman to whom he had brought letters of introduc- tion, was told " we have no Sabbath here." He sct him- self to remedy this state of things, and succeeded, with others, in establishing some religious services in one of the log houses, and also organized, on August 19th of the same year, the first Sunday-school in Chicago. This school prospered, and developed into what is now the school of the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Carpenter had brought a stock of drugs and other goods from Troy, and with these he opened a drug and general store in a small log building. Though at first dealing chiefly in drugs, the necessities of the place caused him to extend his trade, and it gradually embraced nearly every kind of merchandise. The work on the canal from Chicago to the Illinois river was then about being commenced, and this brought large numbers of men to the place, and many customers came from Indiana. The prevalence of chills and fever, too, made a large demand for quinine and other drugs. The business increased, and towards the end of the year he took a larger log building, owned by Mr. G. W. Dole. At the same time he purchased a lot of ground on what is now South Water street, on which he erected a frame building, into which he removed in the spring of 1833. He remained there for several years, and then removed to Lake street, where he also stayed several years. The business had by this time narrowed itself morc especially into a drug trade. In 1844 he sold out to Brinkerhoof & Penton, who carried it on for several years. On retiring from active mercantile life he turned his attention to real estate business. He had, on first settling in Chicago, pre-empted a quarter section, or one hundred and sixty acres of government land, supposing it would be desirable for farming purposes, which he afterwards laid out in lots, and which was known as "Carpenter's addition." The rapid growth of the city made this a most valuable property. It consisted of the site now bounded by Madison street on the one side and Kinzie and Halstead streets on the other; the west line running between Ann and Eliza- beth streets. The patent for this land, signed by General Jackson, is still in the possession of Mr. Carpenter. In the early days of the settlement he had unfortunately been induced to become surety for several friends for about $5000. As usual, the responsibility of the payment fell on the bondsman, and Mr. Carpenter was compelled to sacri- fice a large portion of this property to satisfy his friends' debt. The land thus taken for a comparatively trifling sum now represents a value of ¿ver a million dollars. Not- withstanding this misadventure, he was subsequently very successful in real estate operations, and still holds property of this kind in the city and suburbs. He has always taken a most active part in religious matters, and specially in the his commission, entered with zeal into the cause of the col- onies, and raised a company in their service. He fought with credit, and at the close of the war was put in command of the military post at West Point. Young Philo obtained his education partly at the public school and partly at a private academy in South Adams. On the completion of his studies he occupied himself on his father's farm, remain- ing there until he attained his majority. About the year 1827, having already acquired some knowledge of the drug trade, and being desirous of studying medicine, he became the student of Dr. Amatus Robbins, of Troy, New York, with whom he remained two or three years. Although he never adopted the practice of medicine as a profession, the medical experience he had obtained was subsequently made to do good service on several occasions some years later. The rumors of the great attractions of the western country, its capacity for development, and the opportunities offered by it to enterprising men, were at this time being spread far and wide. It chanced that a relative of Mr. Carpenter's had, during part of the years 1829 and 1830, made a pro- longed tour through the States of Illinois and Michigan, riding over the prairies on an Indian pony. The richness of the land, together with its beauty, impressed him deeply. On returning to his friends in the East he became an elo- quent advocate for this then almost unexplored region. So deeply did he instil into Mr. Carpenter's mind the idea of the desirability of the West, that he was persuaded to emi- grate thither and adopt it as his future home. In the early summer of 1832 he started on his journey. Ile went by way of the Erie Canal to Buffalo, and from thence by a small steamboat to Detroit. There he took the stage which carried the mail of those days. This "stage " was simply an ordinary farm wagon, covered. In it he travelled as far as Niles, Michigan. Here he mct Mr. Hiram Wheeler, since a prominent merchant of Chicago, by whose advice he floated down the St. Jo river on a small lighter belonging to Mr. Wheeler. Arrived at the mouth of the St. Jo, they learned that the cholera was raging with intensity at Fort Dearborn, and that communication with Chicago by vessel was stopped on that account. They then hired two Indians, with a canoe, which was towed by a rope made of elm bark, and in this fashion they came round the head of the lake to the little settlement of Chicago. It was in July, 1832, when they arrived at the village, the population of which at that time mustered, outside the garrison, not more than two hundred souls, and the most of these were French and Indian half-breeds. It contained nothing but log houses, no frame buildings even being then completed. The troops that had just arrived at Fort Dearborn, under the command of General Winfield Scott, were suffering severely from cholera, and numbers of them were dying daily. In this emergency Mr. Carpenter's medical knowl- edge proved of great service. He attended the cases both | affairs of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, of

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the latter of which he is a zealous and most prominent member. From the time when he first landed at the then obscure village, and exerted himself to establish a Sunday- school and religious services in one of the settler's log houses, down to the present time, when one of the finest temples in Chicago acknowledges him as its founder, he has been ever active in working for, and liberal to an unusual degree in giving to, his Master's cause. He bore his full part in the expenses of erecting the first church building in the town. In 1347, having changed his residence, he be- came one of the founders of the Third Presbyterian Church, and continued his membership in it until 1851, when the conflict of opinion on the slavery question resulted in the severance of a large number of the members from that church. He then became the chief mover in the organiza- tion of a new church-the now famous First Congregational Church of Chicago-which was formed on May 22d, 1851. His actual donations in money to this church since its formation have exceeded $50,000. This splendid church is one of the ornaments of the city, and became most mem- orable during the great fire. Ilis zcal in the cause of popular education has also been most noteworthy. He was for many years a member of the School Board, and his ser- vices in this respect have been recognized by the giving to one of the eity school-houses the name of the "Carpenter School." To this school he made a special donation in 1867 of $1000 for text-books for teachers and scholars. He was also for about fifteen years a Director of the Chicago Theological Seminary, founded in 1854, and in the course of that time his donations in lands and money to this insti- tution also amounted to more than $50,000. IIe is and always has been a strong temperance man. In 1332 he circulated a total abstinence pledge which gained many adherents, an Indian chief being among the number. IIe delivered the first temperance address in Chicago. He has been twice married : firstly, in May, 1830, to Sarah F. Bridges, of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, who died in the following November; and again, in 1834, to Ann Thompson, of Saratoga county, New York. Ile has brought up a family of seven children, three of whom are now living. His youngest son, Theodore Birney Carpenter, a young man of high attainments, died suddenly of heart disease in 1869. Though he has reached an advaneed age, Mr. Carpenter is still hale and aetive. He is a representa- tive man among the old settlers and merchants of Chicago, of whom the metropolis of the West may well be proud.

Ohio, and afterwards was engaged in teaching school for a few years, during which time he studied law, and in April, 1864, was admitted to the bar of the State of Ohio. In 1862 he entered the army as a private in the 52d Ohio Reg- iment, and was subsequently promoted to the rank of Sergeant-Major; but on account of failing health he was not able to do field duty, and at the expiration of one year he was discharged. In May, 1864, he was again cnlisted in the hundred days' serviee, and completed his term ; he was stationcd at Fort Delaware. In the fall of 1864 he returned to Steubenville and there commenced the practice of his profession, in which he continued until the summer of 1865. At that time he moved to Illinois, and taught sehcol in Macoupin county until May, 1866, when he located at Litchfield, Montgomery county, and there resumed legal practice, in which he is now actively engaged. Mr. Zink stands at the head of the bar in that place. In 1869 he was the Republican eandidatc for the Constitutional Convention, but was defeated, his county being largely Democratic at all times. In 1872 he was the Elector for the district on the Liberal ticket. He was married in 1874 to Gillie Cave, of Litchfield, Illinois.

ASON, NELSON, Pioneer and Real Estate Opera- tor of Sterling and Chicago, was born in Paisley, Scotland, March 20th, 1810, and was a younger son of George Mason and Isabella (Nelson) Mason. He received but few educational advan- tages, his course being confined to the simple clementary branches of instruction. He left school at a very early age and entered the establishment of his father, who was a manufacturer of silk and woollen goods. He remained in this business for some years, and made himself master of all its details, acquiring at the same time consider- able commercial discipline, and laying the foundation of solid business habits. He became, however, at length pos- sessed with a desire to try his fortune in the broad domain of the United States, of whose great attractions and vast capacities he had heard through means of an elder brother already here. The desire increased upon him, and when still a mere youth he finally cut loose from his associations in the old world and sailed for the new, taking a step in life the wisdom ef which has been proved by its ecmplete suecess. On landing in America he went first to Caledonia county, Vermont, where his brother was living, and Ly strict attention to business acquired a capital both in the form of money and experience, which prepared him for an- other enterprising step-a removal to the broad western fields whose capaeities were just beginning to be understood by the far-seeing. He had already secured efficient aid in the person of a wife, I). Emmeline Barnett, of Barnett, Vermont, and in 1836 together they took their way to Illi- nois, bearing with them the strict New England principles

INK, GEORGE LIMERIC, Attorney-at-Law, was born in Steubenville, Ohio, on September 19th, 1840. He is of German extraction. His father, James H. Zink, a native of Pennsyl- vania, early emigrated to West Virginia, and afterwards to Chio. George was educated at Smithfield, Jefferson county, to which they ever clung fast even amid the tendency to

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forgetfulness of restraint which naturally attends a newly- organized community. They tarricd a short time in Alton ; but the beauty and fertility of the famous Rock river valley, still in its primitive condition, won them among its pioneer inhabitants. In this vast and almost uninhabited prairie Nelson Mason thought he saw superior advantages for a town site at the rapids of Rock river, and with the consent of three others gave the spot its present name of Sterling, which was suggested by remembrance of the famous town of that name in his native Scotland. The alteration in the spelling was made in deference to the " hard money " dis- cussion just then rife. In connection with J. D. Barnett, he here opened a stock of merchandise, supplying the numerous wants of settlers and Indians, entered claims upon land, and erected some buildings. In 1837 the place was properly laid out, and as he was a chief proprie- tor, henceforth for a good number of years his time was mostly engaged in developing the infant town. The first frame building which looked upon its log-cabin neighbors, the hotel where meetings religious and political were ac- commodated, as well as the travelling public; much later, the first brick house, and other things testify to his energy. " Uncle Sam " secured to the little town regular mail com- munication with the rest of the world in 1837, giving the contract to Mr. Mason, who triumphantly brought to White- side county its first bundle of letters in June of that year. In 1849, though not relinquishing his interest in Sterling, he sought a home in Chicago, in order that a young family might have better educational advantages. Here active pursuits of various kinds employed his attention, and when the Illinois & Michigan Canal opened direct water com- munication between the Mississippi and Chicago, with his accustomed enterprise he was among the first to prove its advantage by engaging in extensive mercantile operations between St. Louis and Chicago. His interest in Sterling never having lessened, 1856 found him returned to what was now a thriving town, and again thoroughly engaged in increasing her prosperity, building, among other things, an elevator, shipping grain, becoming Director, Treasurer, and later President of the S.erling & Rock Island Railroad, and helping the place to her present position of high prosperity. A recognition of his services to the town was made when Sterling secured a municipal charter, by his unanimous election as Mayor of the city, and other important offices of trust in town and county. In 1868 he abandoned active business, made a two years' sojourn in Europe, and returned to Chicago, of which place he is now a respected citizen, and where he finds sufficient employment in looking after his real estate and banking interests. He is still hale and vigorous, enjoying the high esteem of hosts of friends, not only because of his firm integrity and personal worth, but as one of the energetic and enterprising men who have con- curred in developing the western country and bringing it to its present state of progress and advancement, and in which he has continued interest and firm faith.

ARKS, CALVIN CHAPIN, SR., was born April 5th, 1805, and died in 1860. His father, Cap- tain Robert Parks, served in the war of 1812. He was a pioneer settler of Michigan, having made that State his home in 1822. Calvin's earlier years were passed in working on a farm. Begin- ning subsequently the study of law, he was admitted to the bar in about 1840, and settled at Pontiac, Michigan, where he practiscd his profession. In 1849 he removed to Wau- kegan, Illinois, where he was professionally and successfully engaged until his decease in 1860. Ilis two sons, B. F. Parks and Calvin C. Parks, have each taken a prominent position in the State. The first is a leading lawyer of Aurora, and for some time occupied a seat on the Bench of Common Plcas in the district of which Aurora is a part. The second, Calvin C. Parks, is extensively engaged in the raising of cattle, and by the extent of his operations in this business has won the title of " Cattle King."

ORY, BENJAMIN SAYRE, M. D., was born in Milton, Saratoga county, New York, August 13th, 1805. His parents were Eliakim Cory and Sarah (Sayre) Cory. He was educated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the West- ern District of South New York, at Fairfield, where he graduated in 1830. He began the practice of his profession in 1836, at Wellington, Canada West, where he remained during the ensuing twenty-eight years, until 1854. In the fall of this year he removed to Waukegan, Illinois, where he has since permanently resided, pursuing constantly the practice of his profession. In 1862 he was appointed United States Pension Surgeon, a position which he has since continued to hold. Ile was married in 1828 to Fanny Young, daughter of James Young, of Prince Ed- ward's county, Canada West, member of the Canadian Legislature and Justice of the Peace. His eldest son, James Y. Cory, was appointed Postmaster of Waukegan in 1861.

ARNSWORTHI, GENERAL JOHN F., ex-Con- gressman, was born at Eaton, Canada East, March 27th, 1820. He is of New England par- entage, and his father, though poor, was a man well educated. In the spring of 1834 the family removed to Michigan, then a territory, where the father engaged in farming and land surveying, assisted in both occupations by his son John, who at intervals, when not engaged in his farming pursuits, attended school, giving special attention to the study of surveying, in order that by its practice he might secure means for further study, and especially for that of the law. In 1843, having been pre- viously admitted to the bar, he removed to St. Charles,

Eng 1ty Ger E Pel L"

Mo. S. Jaisworth

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Illinois, and engaged in the practice of his chosen profes- sion, having but little knowledge or experience, and to use his own words, neither money, friends, nor library. He was by education a Democrat, and in the campaign of 1844 he heartily advocated the Democratic ticket and urged the election of Polk to the Presidency. He left the Democratic ranks, however, in the year 1846, upon the annexation of Texas, allied himself with the Liberal party, and assisted in the nomination of Owen Lovejoy for Congress. Since that time he has constantly given his influence and support to the anti-slavery cause. In 1856 and again in 1858 he was elected to Congress by very large majorities from what was then known as the Chicago District. In 1860, leaving his seat in Congress and making a journey to Chicago for that purpose, he assisted materially in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln, and seems to have been the only mcm- ber of Congress from Illinois who at that time believed in the possibility of Mr. Lincoln's nomination. In October, 1861, he raised the 8th Illinois Cavalry Regiment, number- ing nearly twelve hundred strong, and procceded with it to Washington. Ile was duly elected Colonel of the regi- ment, and as such commanded it for about thirteen months, participating, together with his regiment, in most of the bat- tles upon the Peninsula under Mcclellan, and those of South Mountain and of Antietam, in Maryland. In these battles his regiment was almost invariably in advance when approaching the enemy and in the rear when retreating from him. He was beloved by all the men under his command, and history has already recorded the brave bearing and gallant conduct of the regiment and its commander, whosc services were rewarded by his appointment, in November, 1862, to the position of Brigadier-General. He was then assigned to the Ist Cavalry Brigade, which he continued to command till after the battle of Fredericksburg. At this time he had contracted a severe lameness from being con- stantly in the saddle, and was obliged to request leave of absence for medical treatment. This was granted him, and having in the fall of the same year been re-elected to Con- gress, he, on the 4th of March following, resigned his com- mission in the army. In the fall of 1863, however, he was authorized to raise another regiment of cavalry-the 67th Illinois-selecting the officers for the same from his old regiment. In 1864 he was again elected to Congress, and was also honored with a fourth election in 1866, the two last nominations being by acclamation ; and on both these occasions he received the largest majority at his election given by any district in the United States. During the Fortieth Congress he was Chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, and also a member of the Committee on Reconstruction. He took an important part in legislation, and was a frequent and forcible speakcr on the floor of the house. As Chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, in the Forty-first Congress, he reported and advocated a bill abolishing the franking privi- lege, and as a member of the Reconstruction Committee he

favored the readmission of Virginia, Georgia, and others on terms of great liberality to those who participated in the rebellion. He was again re-elected as a Republican to the Forty-second Congress, receiving 8366 votes against 2349 votes for R. D. Bishop, Democrat, and 6316 for J. C. Stoughton, Temperance.

THERIDGE, JAMES HENRY, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in the Rush Medical College of Chicago, was born in St. Johnsville, Montgomery county, New York, March 20th, 1844. His father, Francis P. Ether- idge, M. D., practised for thirty-five years in New York State, and subsequently for twelve years in Min- nesota. His mother, Fannie ( Easton) Etheridge, was from Connecticut. He was educated principally in his native State, and moved with his parents to Minnesota, where, in 1860, he commenced the study of medicine under the in- structions of his father. In the winter of 1864-65 he at- tended his first course of lectures at the Rush Medical Col- lege, Chicago, Illinois, and in the ensuing winter of IS65-66 attended lectures also at Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the winter of 1867-68 he took his second course at the Rush Medical College, from which institution he finally graduated, and began the practice of his profession in Evanston. Also, in the spring course of the last-named college, he was appointed Lecturer on Materia Medica and Therapeutics. He was professionally engaged in Evanston for a period of about eighteen months. He afterward spent about eighteen months in Europe, setting out in 1870, and on his return accepted a position as Lecturer on Theory and Practice in the Rush Medical College, filling this posi- tion until June, 1871. In July of that year he was chosen to fill the chair of Professor of Materia Medica and Thera- peutics in the same institution, which office he has since held. He was married in June, 1870, to Harriet E. Powers, daughter of H. G. Powers, Vice-President of the Illinois Savings Trust Company, of Chicago, Illinois.

ERRIMAN, HENRY P., A. M., M. D., was born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, August 25th, 1838. He is the son of Henry Merriman and Sarah (Bodurtha) Merriman, also of Massachu- setts. He was educated at the Beloit College, in Wisconsin, where he graduated in 1857, taking a four years' course. Ilis degree of A. M. he received from this institution in 1863. After taking a regular course in the Chicago Medical College, he graduated also there in 1865, and commenced the practice of his profession in Chicago, where he has since remained. In 1870 he became connected with the Chicago Medical College as Lecturer

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on Organic Chemistry and Toxicology, and eventually be- tion at Boston, Massachusetts, and was elected one of the came Professor of that chair. In 1874 he was transferred Vice-Presidents of the Convention. He is President of the Montgomery County Medical Association. He is a promi- nent Mason, and has filled all the chairs in the subordinate lodge. He is Generalissimo of the St. Omar Commandery, and has passed all the chairs in Odd Fellowship. For the past twenty-six years he has been a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. He was married in 1849 to A. A. Gardner, of Fayette county, Illinois to the chair of Medical Jurisprudence, which Professorship he now holds. Ile has also lectured, for the past seven years, during the summer course, on diseases of the skin. In 1873 he was appointed Professor of Clinical Medicine to the Mercy Hospital of Chicago. He is connected also with the Davis Free Dispensary as Genecologist. His ¡ rictice is a general one, tending however to obstetrics as a specialty. Ile was married in 1867 to Mary Avery, of Chicago.

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The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 97

Author: Robson, Charles, ed Publication date: 1875 Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy Number of Pages: 770

Author: Robson, Charles, ed
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy
Number of Pages: 770